[Moses]

Actually, primary Varicella infection at any age is called "Chicken Pox". "Shingles" is a reactivation of dormant viral particles as mentioned above.

The good news? There has been a cheap and effective vaccination available for years now. Vaccine won't help if you have already been exposed.

Better news? The vast majority of adults who say they have never had Chicken Pox did in fact have mild cases. If you do a serum antibody screen, odds are that you have already had a mild case and are already immune.

Best news? If you are antibody positive (Ig G). You can't get Chicken Pox or Shingles by exposure to affected individuals

My advice? Get a Varicella antibody titer. If the IgM is negative and the IgG is positive- you are home free. Nothing to do and you won't get sick. If you are negative for both IgG AND IgM, get the vaccination NOW. If you are IgG negative and IgM positive, you will probably feel like crap by the time you read this. (sorry)